Bad Blood
by nightshade938
Summary: Stefan finds himself in some trouble while on his travels with Klaus and who better to call than big brother Damon? Warning:Will contain some blood and bloodletting. After all they are vampires.
1. Chapter 1

_**BAD BLOOD**_

 _ **Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries do not belong to me. they belong to L.J Smith and the CW**_

* * *

Damon poured himself and Ric a drink. They were poring over maps and newspaper clippings that showed sightings of Stefan and Klaus.

"Why don't you tell Elena about this? You do know she's going to freak out if she finds out" Alaric said

"I'm just trying to protect her Ric, just in case these are false leads. I don't want to get her hopes up" Damon said from behind the shelf

"When she finds out though, it's your funeral"

The buzzing of the phone in Damon's pocket prevented whatever snide remark he was going to throw back at Ric to die on his lips. "This is not a good time" was the first thing he said into the phone. Alaric rolled his eyes. _Typical Damon greeting_. He went back to looking over the maps.

"Stefan?" This caused Alaric to look up. _Stefan was calling? Why was Stefan calling?_ "Whoa…..whoa Stef, slow down. Why are you crying? What happened?"

 _Stefan was crying? What the hell was going on?_ Ric mused. Did Klaus do something to him? He could only hear Damon's half of the conversation. What he wouldn't give for vampire hearing now!

"It hurts? What hurts? Did Klaus hurt you? Just try and calm yourself, okay? Breathe. Just breathe. Good. Tell me where you are so I'll come pick you up" Damon soothed. He nodded to Alaric who grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down the address. "Got it. I'm on my way. Everything's going to be okay" Damon ended the call.

"What was that about?" Alaric asked

"I didn't get the whole story. He was crying too hard and mixing up Italian and English. But I got that he was hurt and he wanted to come home" Damon answered, finally finding the keys he was looking for and walking towards the door. "You coming, Ric?" he threw over his shoulder.

"Italian? You understand Italian?"

Damon looked at him incredulously

"Oh, right. You're originally Italian. I forgot. But isn't it weird? I mean if he was hurt he should be healing. And with the amount of blood he's being draining that shouldn't be a problem. Something strange is happening"

"Really? I hadn't noticed" Damon quipped sarcastically

Alaric rolled his eyes. There it was. _Sarcasm_ , to hide the worry he felt. They drove in silence. Alaric didn't think Damon would appreciate any conversation right now. He could see that he was worried. Worried for his little brother. Klaus had better not had anything to do with what was happening to Stefan or original hybrid or not, Damon would find a way to kill him.

They arrived at the address. It was a house. A single building surrounded by the woods. It was a distance from town. They heard a scream from inside and run into the house. It sounded like someone in pain. There was a lot of blood inside the house, splattered on the wall and on the carpet. _Yep, definitely a place Stefan had visited_. Never mind his lingering scent. The sound of pain came again.

"Stefan? Are you here?" Damon called. The house was big and he didn't want to go searching room to room.

"Damon?"

It was barely audible but Damon heard it. He sprung up the stairs and threw open the door of the first room. The sight that met his eyes wasn't pretty at all. Stefan was curled up on the floor, hands tightly holding his stomach. He was throwing up blood though that was not what worried Damon. He threw up blood all the time, when he drank too much. It was the fact that when he pried Stefan's arm away from his stomach, there was no visible wound. If Stefan was not injured, why was he in pain? This didn't make sense.

"I-It hu-hurts. Please make it stop. Make it stop" Stefan whimpered, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"What hurts, Stefan? Tell me. And I'll make it stop. Was it Klaus? Did he hurt you? Did he bite you?" Damon asked anxiously

Stefan shook his head. "No. It h-hurts him too. Please." He looked up at Damon with eyes full of pain and tears. "Make it stop"

This was getting stranger. Klaus was hurt too? He couldn't deliberate for long though. He had a little brother to take care of. He put his hands under Stefan's knee and on his shoulder and scooped him up. The weight didn't bother him. He was a vampire after all. Besides for all his height, Stefan was light. He could run a marathon while carrying him. Stefan buried his face in Damon's neck while holding on to him tightly. They made their way down the stairs to meet Alaric, who had been looking around.

"I found something interesting. Look" he turned over a body. Damon stared at the blonde locks and the youthful face, so innocent in sleep. One would never guess how much havoc this one could wreck.

"Klaus"

* * *

 _I know I probably shouldn't be starting another story but I couldn't get the idea out of my head so here we are. Please review._


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries belong to L.J Smith and the C.W**

* * *

"What do you think is wrong with them? Klaus is passed out and Stefan cannot stop crying"

"I don't know Ric. I haven't had time to think about it. My hands are full" Damon answered. His hands were indeed full. Literally. Stefan was quietly sobbing in his arms, taking turns between clutching at his stomach and fisting the back of Damon's shirt. Damon had given up asking what happened since Stefan was not talking. He looked at the original in the front. "It has to be really bad if Klaus is unconscious. Perhaps Bonnie can tell us what is wrong"

"What are you going to tell Elena?"

"I don't know. Right now my priority is Stefan. I could care less what Elena thinks"

Alaric sighed. He looked at Damon in the mirror, quietly running a hand through Stefan's hair and back. He had never seen him so affectionate with the boy. He's seen flashes of it though. Like when the tomb vampires kidnapped him. But this, this was different. There was a strangled sob as Stefan threw up blood again. Damon's shirt was a mess by now but Alaric didn't hear a word of complaint out of him. He just grabbed his brother closer and shushed him. He felt he should say something but he didn't know what. He looked in the mirror again. "He's going to be okay, Damon. He'll be fine" he managed.

* * *

Alaric pulled the car into the Salvatore's driveway. He had barely stopped when Elena and Caroline came running out from the house. They stopped abruptly when they noticed Klaus in the front. Caroline scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"What is he doing here?"

"You'd have to ask him that" Damon answered, lifting Stefan into his arms and nodding in Alaric's direction. "He wouldn't let me kill him"

Alaric rolled his eyes. "We didn't know what was wrong. Besides, we don't know how to kill an all-powerful original hybrid and in your own words 'his two-faced older brother'"

"What has Elijah got to do with this?" Elena asked

"You don't think he'll come after us if we kill his little brother? No matter how psychotic said little brother is. I'd go after someone who killed Damon, no matter how many times I want to do it myself"

"I'd give someone who killed Damon a reward" Caroline scoffed

"Thanks Ric, that was so sweet. Now that we've established that fact, do you mind grabbing your new best friend out of my car?"

Damon laid Stefan on the couch, who immediately curled up in a fetal position, clutching his stomach tightly and whimpering.

"What is wrong with his stomach? Is he injured?" Elena asked, concerned. "If he is, why hasn't he healed?"

"That's what I'd like Brunhilda to find out. Where the hell is she anyway? I called her ages ago" Damon growled. He suddenly heard coughing coming from the other couch in the room, where Alaric had put Klaus. "Good, you're awake. Care to tell me what the hell you did to my brother?" Damon asked, incensed. He saw Klaus look around in fear, before settling on their faces, and then….. _relief?_ Why would he be relieved? "Well?" Damon prompted. Klaus' face suddenly turned white and he turned on his side and threw up onto the rug.

"Is that…?"

"Yes its blood, Elena" Caroline answered

Damon groaned. "Ahh, not you too. You were supposed to give me answers"

"So if Klaus is also hurt then I don't think he's responsible for whatever is happening to Stefan. Then who is responsible for making them both this way?" Alaric mused

"That's what I'd like to know. Where the hell is Bonnie?" Damon was getting impatient

"I'm here. And I think I know what is wrong with them"

* * *

"Bad blood? That's your explanation for this?" Damon looked at Bonnie incredulously

Bonnie nodded. "Yes. It's a very ancient curse…"

"Wait, what?" Damon interrupted. "Did you just say curse? A witch did _this?_ "

"Most likely, yea. You don't find this kind of spell in most grimoires. Only the most powerful of powerful witches would know it. Whoever cursed them must either be very powerful or have powerful witch connections. The witch who wrote it down was not the original caster though. She was just a witness"

"What are you trying to say, Bonnie?"

"The original caster of the spell died. It's a very dangerous spell, Damon. It is used as a last resort or if you really hate someone enough to sacrifice your life to kill them"

"Sacrifice?"

"The spell is meant to kill the witch who cast it and the vampire it's cursed with"

Damon's eyebrows shot up. "My God..." Elena whispered. "How?"

"The spell makes a witch's blood unclean and toxic to vampires. More toxic than vervain. So when a vampire drains said witch, the witch would die but the vampire would go through excruciating pain and agony, throwing up blood until there's nothing left. When they feed, the cycle starts all over. Besides the only blood that they can keep down is their own blood"

"But you can't feed on your own blood. It's like eating your own flesh" Caroline pointed out

"B-but they are still alive" Damon stuttered. "And Caroline's right. You can't drink your own blood"

"That's why it's called a curse Damon. They will die eventually. Slowly and painfully"

"There has to be a cure, right? A counter spell or something. Besides a vampire can't be killed like that. He'd have to be staked"

"You don't understand Damon. This was made for vampires. A witch can make their blood poisonous to vampires with some herbs and spells, but that only incapacitates them. Temporarily, like vervain. But this, this was made to kill them" Bonnie answered solemnly. "I'm sorry Damon. There's nothing I can do"

"There has to be something, Bonnie. Ask the other witches. Maybe they'll know of a cure. Please" Damon pleaded

"The other witches? I doubt they'll know. Even if they did, they wouldn't help. You're vampires Damon. And you just drained a witch. The curse wouldn't work otherwise. You really think another witch would help you to thwart what they think is just punishment?"

"Ask Emily then. She'll know. She always knows"

"Emily hates you Damon. What makes you think she'll want to help?"

"Tell her it's Stefan. She'll find a way to help him. She always had a soft spot for Stefan. Everybody does"

"I wonder why that is" Caroline muttered

Damon glared at Caroline darkly before looking back at Bonnie with a pleading look. "Please Bonnie, just try. I can't let him die. He's my brother. Please"

Bonnie sighed. "I'll see what I can do"

* * *

Alaric closed the door behind Bonnie. He heard someone sigh dejectedly. He didn't have to turn round to know it was Damon. Guy was barely holding it together. Pride was the only thing keeping him from bursting into tears. "Elena, Caroline, didn't you girls say something about finding a dress for that party at the falls? Go. I'll call you if anything changes" he ushered them out the door amidst Elena's protests. He sat down beside Damon, who was now kneeling beside Stefan sleeping form on the couch. He sent him a grateful look. He knew Ric sent the girls out to salvage his pride.

"This is not your fault Damon"

"If he hadn't gone to Klaus for the cure…"

"Don't. Just don't do that. You didn't ask for Tyler to bite you. He just did what any brother would have done. He saved your life"

"And now he's gonna die"

"We don't know that" Alaric said. He put his hand on his dark head and felt him tense. He had not been joking when he said he'd go after anyone who hurt him. He was like a little brother to him. And before anyone went arguing that he was older, Ric was having none of that. He had just been alive _longer_. That doesn't make him older. He was barely twenty four. And that was how Ric saw him. _Twenty four_. Not a century and half. It was not really hard seeing him that way either. Half the things he did were so immature Alaric sometimes wondered if he wasn't _younger_ than twenty four. He felt him relax when he didn't move his hand and he felt brave enough to draw him closer for a hug. The resistance Alaric expected never came. No snide remarks, no sarcastic quips, nothing. He just came willingly, and melted into Alaric's embrace, hiding his face in the crook of his neck. Alaric smiled at the childish gesture, and kissed his hair.

"He'll be fine Damon. We'll find a way to fix him" he soothed. He felt Damon shudder and knew he was trying not to cry. He knew it was a loosing battle when he felt the wetness on his shoulder a few seconds later. "Its okay, buddy. Let it out"

"I can't lose him Ric. He's the only family I've got left" Damon mumbled into Alaric's shoulder

"You won't lose him. And he's not the only family you have left. You've got me"

* * *

 _Here is chapter two. Please review and let me know if its going in the right direction._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the vampire diaries or its characters. They are the property of LJ Smith and the CW**_

* * *

Damon rubbed his temples tiredly as he watched Stefan sleep. It was not a peaceful rest. He kept whimpering and tossing and turning until seventy two minutes after he shut his eyes, he opened them again, and promptly threw up blood. Damon rubbed his back as he heaved; not minding that he had to change the sheets again. He hoped Bonnie came back with a solution soon. It had only been a few hours since they found Stefan and Klaus but Stefan was already starting to turn pale from all the blood loss. Damon had since given up on feeding him blood as he threw them back up almost immediately. Instead he lifted the glass of water beside the bed to Stefan's lips, urging him to drink.

Stefan took a few tentative sips of the water and fell back onto the soft pillows. His head and throat and stomach hurt something awful but he was too weak now to even cry out anymore. He looked up at Damon. "H-how is K-Klaus?"

Damon glared at him so coldly he dropped his eyes to the sheets. "I could care less if Klaus died right now. But since you have gained some strength, how about you tell me how you came to be in this condition?"

Stefan licked his lips nervously. "We were l-look-looking for wolves. Werewolves. Klaus w-wanted to turn them into hybrids"

"He was creating hybrids?"

Stefan shook his head. "Trying to. It wasn't w-working s-so he went to ask a witch why he c-couldn't turn the wol-wolves. When we got to the witches house, Klaus lured the little sist-sister out and t-tried to get her t-to invite us in. Turned out t-the house was in her sister's name so Klaus tried t-o use her to g-get her sister to invite us in. B-but she refused so I …uhm… broke the sister's neck and Klaus threatened to burn the house to the ground if she didn't let us in. She w-went into the house for a few minutes and then asked us to come in. She had all these candles around her and an open book"

"A grimoire"

Stefan nodded. "I t-think so. She gave us aneurysms but she wasn't st-strong enough to hold off two vampires and she said she knew why Klaus was there but she would never help him. Klaus got angry and bit into her. She was almost d-dead when he asked me t-to f-finish her off"

"That was why he was passed out. He drank a lot more blood than you did. Serves him right"

Damon heard the door open and turned round to see Alaric. He looked even more exhausted than Damon. "What's wrong?'

"It's Klaus. He's got worse. He's thrown up so much blood I can almost see him graying"

"So?

"What do you mean so?"

"Ric I don't care if Klaus dies. In fact I would be happy if that happens. You wanted to play nurse to the man who killed your girlfriend, so go ahead. It's none of my business"

"It will become your business when Elijah is killing you for not making it your business. I'm trying to save your life"

"I don't **care** about Klaus or Elijah. I'm trying to take care of **my** little brother. Its Klaus' fault Stefan is in this mess. Elijah should crawl out of whatever hole he's in and come and take care of **his** little brother. Stefan's my priority. Not Klaus" Damon snarled at Alaric.

"He's started to cry"

"Get him some tissues"

"Damon..."

"Leave me alone Ric"

Alaric sighed and left, shutting the door softly behind him

"D-Damon"

"Hmm"

"Please kill me" Stefan whispered

"What! No. Hang in there bro, Bonnie will find a cure you'll see. She has the power of a hundred witches. She'll get you a cure. I promise" Damon said, not sure if he was comforting Stefan or himself.

Stefan coughed, throwing up more blood, this time onto himself. Tears leaked out from the corner of his eyes and he looked up at his brother piteously. "M-my throat h-hurts and I'm p-parched. So h-hungry" he moaned as the veins popped around his eyes and his fangs dropped. Damon looked at him, confused. "I n-need b-blood" He brought his hand weakly to his lips and, before Damon's confused brain could comprehend what was going on, bit into his wrist.

"Stefan!" Damon reacted quickly, prying Stefan's wrist from his lips but not before he had drawn a mouthful of blood. Damon stared at him in horror and tried to get him to spit it out but he swallowed it with a gulp, staring at his older brother guiltily.

Alaric ran back into the room at top speed. "What happened?"

Damon looked at him incredulously. "He just drank from his own wrist"

"What?"

"And he hasn't thrown up" Damon noted, and then turned pale. "Bonnie was right. The only blood he can keep down is his own. Oh God"

Noticing Damon's distracted state; Stefan tried to steal another sip from his wrist. The blood he chugged down had helped his throat a great deal, and he wanted more. He slinked his arm back to his lips and dropped his fangs. At that moment, Damon's attention came back to him.

"No. Stefan don't" Damon shouted removing Stefan's hand before he could bite into his wrist again. Stefan growled at Damon angrily and tried to pull his arm back but he was no match for his older and much stronger brother. Damon trapped his wrists in one hand and pushed the other against his mouth to stifle the rabid noises he was making. Damon gave a little yelp suddenly when he felt Stefan bite into his hand. He withdrew his hand quickly and stared shocked at his brother, then at Alaric. "He drank from me" he stated to Alaric, still shocked.

But Alaric had a different look on his face. He stepped closer to Stefan, who seemed to have exhausted himself and he could swear a little color had returned to his cheeks. He looked up at Damon with a smile. "And he kept it down"

"What?"

"Your blood. He hasn't thrown it up yet"

"B-but Bonnie said …"

"Bonnie said the only blood he could keep down was his own blood. But you are his brother Damon, and you have the same blood type-don't ask me how I know that. Your blood is very similar to his. We found a loophole"

"I can give him my blood" Damon whispered, slowly starting to come out of his shock. Alaric smiled and nodded.

"And we can keep him alive until Bonnie finds a counter spell"

* * *

Klaus groaned as he clutched his stomach tightly. It felt like a master chef was chopping his insides with a red hot knife. He had been throwing up since he regained consciousness and found himself on the couch in the Salvatore house and was surprised he still ha any blood left to throw up since all attempts to get blood into him had proved futile. He knew there was something fishy about that witch when she had put up almost no fight as he drained her. If she wasn't already dead, he'd have had a wonderful time … Ahhhhhhh! Oh god that hurt. He closed his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth as he tried to breath through the pain. Oh he hated witches. He really did. With a passion.

Bloody hell! He was startled when a choked sob erupted from his throat and tears streamed down his face. He weakly buried his face in the pillow and was glad Alaric was not here at the moment to see his weakness, though he had already seen him cry. Why the man was helping him again he did not know, and at the moment did not care. All he wanted now was some warm blood to soothe his aching throat. He looked at the specks of blood that had fallen on the bed during his last coughing fit and throw up session. He put his finger in one of the drops and licked it off, relishing the taste. His fangs dropped as he bit into his wrist and drank deeply. In the back of his mind he knew it would make no difference, and it was disgusting but his throat was so grateful for the blood he didn't care. That was how Damon and Alaric found him.

"Well it seems you have also reached the cannibalistic stage" Damon sneered

Klaus tried to glare at him, but he was just too weak.

"At this rate you'll be dead in a day, two tops" Damon continued, unfazed by his attempted glare. "But we've found a way to keep you alive until Bonnie gets back from her witchy conference. Turns out Stefan can keep my blood down because we're brothers and have similar blood. Elijah may be able to keep you alive with his blood. So you need to contact him from wherever the hell he is-and I'm assuming you know because instead of sticking to the deal and killing your sorry ass, he…"

"Damon" Alaric admonished

"Right. So contact Elijah and tell him to come save you, again, or you're gonna die. And this time he won't be able to whisk you away from the flames" Damon ended.

While Damon had been ranting, Klaus' eyes had been growing wider and wider with each word Damon spoke. Horror flicked over his face as he finally processed all that Damon had said, and Alaric noticed. He moved closer to the bed and squatted, staring Klaus straight in the eye.

"Where is Elijah?"

* * *

 _Please review  
_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries belong to LJ Smith and the CW**_

* * *

Damon narrowed his eyes at Klaus. "You daggered Elijah? After he literally pulled you from fire you went and daggered him as a thank you. You are one sick bastard, you know that?"

Klaus glared back weakly. "Debatable. You are as bad as I am"

"Debatable. But even if I was, sticking a dagger in the heart of your brother who broke a deal to rescue you is a low blow. And now you're going to die. Because the similarity of your brother's blood to yours is the only thing that can help you now" Damon stated somewhat smugly as he watched Klaus face pale further at the very real prospect of dying. "I'll make sure to wear a nice tux. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to **my** brother"

Alaric wisely kept quiet throughout the villain-to-villain pep talk. He knew Damon had done some very terrible things but he also knew that he would never leave Stefan hanging. And he knew that Damon disliked Klaus, and would be very happy if he suddenly dropped dead. But he also knew that if Klaus died and Elijah somehow got undaggered, maybe in a century or two, he would most likely blame Damon for his death. And he wouldn't put it past Elijah to take Stefan as revenge. An eye for an eye and all that. Or in this case a little brother for a little brother. It's what Damon would do if it was the other way round. And he wouldn't be there to help Damon. But he was here now, and now he could do something. He pulled Damon's arm and led him into the hallway.

"No"

"You don't even know what I'm going to say"

"You're going to tell me to find Elijah and undagger him so he can come and keep his fool brother alive long enough for Bonnie to find a counter spell because if Klaus dies Elijah would kill me" Damon recited in one rushed breath

Alaric gaped at him. "How did you..."

"Doesn't matter. Answer's still no. Even if I wanted to, I don't know where Elijah is and I'm not about to pull Bonnie out of her research to do a locator spell" Damon hissed

"You could just ask Klaus"

Damon looked at Alaric incredulously. "You think someone who just fed on himself is lucid enough to say anything about his brother's whereabouts?"

"Damon. Please"

Damon didn't know if it was Alaric's please or the way his voice broke slightly when he said it that did him in but he could feel his resolve breaking.

"Alright fine" he all but snarled. "But I'm letting you know that I'm doing this under protest"

Alaric nodded and hid a smile. _Damon was such a child sometimes_. Well, most of the time. "Duly noted" he spoke softly as Damon dug his phone out of his pocket.

* * *

Bonnie walked into the boarding house about twenty minutes after Damon hung up. "Where is it?" she asked, glancing sharply at Damon.

"Over here" Damon said, leading her to the living room

Bonnie sauntered over to the item on the table and started reciting a spell. "That's a piece of Elijah's jacket" Alaric mused. "Do you think it will work?" he asked Damon

"It's the only thing we have belonging to Elijah. It has to be enough" Damon answered

"I found him"

"That was quick. Where is he?"

* * *

Damon looked at his slumbering baby brother from the doorway of his room. He was loathe to wake him but Stefan needed to feed. He walked into the room and plopped himself into the chair by Stefan's bed. He watched his peacefully sleeping face and shook his head. Feeding could wait a few more minutes. This was one of the rare moments when Stefan was not coughing out his lungs and he wanted it to last a little longer. He chuckled softly as he run a hand through Stefan's hair.

"I always took care of you when you were sick. I thought once we turned into vampires I'd never have to nurse you back to health again but you just had to be you Stefan. The rules don't apply to you. Never did" he sighed. "I'm telling you now brother, you don't get to die. I swear if you die on me I'd bring your scrawny ass back and kill you myself". He heard the sound of a car outside. "Huh. Alaric and Blondie are back. Well, time to wake up now Stef. I gotta go take care of original drama and you have to feed" He bit into his wrist and held it to Stefan's lips before the wound closed, knowing the blood would wake him. Stefan latched onto his arm almost immediately, drawing mouthfuls of blood. Damon winced. "Ehhh. Slow down buddy. Can't drink too much you know that. We can only skirt around the curse so much. _Damn_ _witches_. Ok, that's okay Stef, enough" he removed his hand from Stefan's mouth, the wound closing before he had time to push his shirtsleeves back down

Stefan let out a pitiful whimper at the loss, staring at Damon tiredly from under his eyelashes. He would have asked for more bit he was too tired and too weak. And Damon was right anyway. They hadn't found any particular loophole in the curse. They could only skirt around it a little. His eyes closed before Damon made it out the door.

Damon entered the living too just as Caroline came in with a coffin. She placed it in the middle of the room and excused herself. Damon didn't catch what she said, some thing to do with Elena, and frankly he didn't care. After Caroline's car was no longer heard in the distance, he looked to Alaric. "Well, what you waiting for Ric, pull out the dagger. Let's get this over with"

Alaric almost rolled his eyes at his nonchalance. He pulled the dagger out of the desiccated body and disappeared into the cellar for a blood bag. When he came back Damon was pouring a fresh bottle of bourbon.

"How are you so calm? Aren't you afraid of what he might do?"

Damon took a sip of his drink. "What will he do to me Ric? Kill me? I think Klaus is more afraid of him than anyone else cos he knows he'll be super pissed from his daggering. I have done nothing to him except in your head. Speaking of Klaus, isn't it about time you checked in on you new bestie, hmm?"

This time Alaric **did** roll his eyes. He knew that was Damon's way of getting him safely out of the way when Elijah wakes. He went back upstairs and not more than two minutes later-before he could fully close the door-a loud crash sounded downstairs. Elijah was awake.

* * *

Damon growled loudly when his back connected painfully to a pillar. "Oh come on. This is the thanks I get for bringing you back? And I would appreciate it if you didn't wake Stefan. It's been a rough couple of days"

"Waking him isn't the only thing you'll have to fear if you don't start talking" Elijah spoke in a calm but deadly voice, lifting Damon by the neck against the pillar."Why am I here? Are you working with Klaus?"

"Klaus is d-dying" Damon choked out

Elijah dropped him in shock. "W-what?"

"Your little brother is dying. You're here because you may be the only one who can keep him alive long enough for a cure of sorts to be found and Alaric thinks you'll kill me if Klaus dies. Personally, I just prefer him dead and take my chances"

"Niklaus is dying? How did this happen?"

Damon grabbed the bottle of bourbon he was drinking from. "I'm sure Alaric would love to tell you. There's blood on the table. Help yourself. And don't touch my alcohol or I'll kill you". With that, he turned around and started climbing the stairs leisurely, ignoring the glass he was still holding and drinking straight from the bottle, to Elijah's slight amusement

* * *

Elijah watched as Klaus slept. From what he'd been told this was the first time in the last couple of days that he wasn't throwing up blood. It turned out his blood had worked but in an even smaller amount than Damon's ration to Stefan due to the fact that he and Klaus only had the same mother. Their blood was similar but not that similar. It had been enough though to get him some relief for a while at least. According to Alaric he'd have to repeat the process every few hours. He sighed deeply and leaned back in the chair, taking the chance to fold the sleeves of the shirt he was wearing. It was Damon's, and he had been quite lucky to find one that fitted. The elder Salvatore was somewhat like his little brother. Both were quite slender and Elijah wouldn't fit into any of their clothes so it took some time to find one that was slightly over sized. The colour had not bothered him-everything Damon owned was black. The pants though had been much less if a problem. They were only a little dusty,and as much as Elijah loved to look impeccable he would rather be dusty than try to squeeze his legs into one of Damon's relatively tiny pants.

He rested his head against the backrest of the chair and wondered what would happen if niklaus awoke. They had yet to speak (well the first time didn't count. Klaus was too tired to do anything else other than his eyes widening when his big brother walked into the room. And after Elijah had silently bitten into his wrist to feed him blood he fell asleep only seconds later) and Elijah wondered if he'll forgive him for daggering him. He scoffed at the back of his mind at himself. He had already forgiven Niklaus and he knew it. Klaus could be all sorts of terrible things but he was Elijah's little brother and Elijah had never failed to forgive his sibling any atrocities. He shot up as he heard Klaus whine quietly. He was waking up.

Klaus didn't want to wake up. Partially because it was the first time in days- _had it really only been days?-_ since he had had a moment of rest and he didn't want it to end, and also because he had to talk to Elijah. He groaned internally at the idea.

"I know you're awake Niklaus"

Klaus reluctantly opened his eyes but wouldn't look at Elijah.

"Look at me" Elijah demanded

Klaus swallowed and looked up at his brother.

"How are you feeling?"

"Be...Better" he rasped and cleared his throat. He waited for Elijah to say something but it seemed he was content to sit back and watch him burn. When he couldn't take the silence anymore he said, "Are you going to kill me?"

"You think I'll come all the way down here, feed you my blood and then kill you?" Elijah asked in what would have been an incredulous tone if the situation was not so dire. "No Niklaus . I haven't come to kill you. You're my only living family. You'll be punished sure, but I will not take your life"

"I'm not"

"You're not what?"

"Your only living family" Klaus spoke slowly. "They're alive. The others. They're all alive. I didn't kill them" he ended, trying to gauge Elijah's reaction.

There was no flicker, no spark of recognition, nothing to show that Elijah heard what Klaus had said. He just calmly bit into his wrist and put it to Klaus mouth. "Drink" he said simply

Klaus felt like crying. Elijah certainly knew how to make someone feel guilty with the least amount of effort. "Please say something" he practically begged as he pushed Elijah's arm away

Elijah watched the puncture wounds on his wrist close and simply bit into them again. This time he held it to Klaus mouth while simultaneously cupping the back of his neck to keep him in place. Klaus had no choice but to drink, not that he was trying not to. Due to the witches curse blood was the only thing he could think of, and it had taken all his willpower to shove Elijah's arm out of the way the first time. When Elijah felt he had had enough that he wouldn't die, he pulled away his arm. Then with an almost whispered 'get some rest' he arranged the blankets around Klaus more firmly, making him look even guiltier if that was possible, and made to leave the room.

"What would you do to me?"

Elijah stopped. "I haven't decided yet. But I'm positive by the end you would have learned your lesson" he said without turning around. "I said to get some rest. You would be wise to heed me". Then he was gone.

* * *

Alaric entered Stefan's room and immediately dug out his phone. This was just too adorable to miss. Besides it was good blackmail material. He inwardly flinched at the idea. _Damon was having a bad influence on his thinking._ Nevertheless he still took the picture. Damon was asleep curled up in the chair beside Stefan's bed. One hand cushioned his head on the chair's armrest and the other was lying beside Stefan's head on the pillow. It was logical to say Damon had been running his hand through his hair when he fell asleep. He took more pictures for quick measure before sliding the phone back into his pocket.

"Its funny how innocent they cam look when they're sleeping". Alaric whirled around to see Elijah in the open doorway. "You know he'll kill you when he wakes up". Alaric shrugged. After a short pause Elijah spoke again. "I'm told I have you to thank for my brother's life. And to an extent mine"

"I didn't do it for you" Alaric snarled

"I know" Elijah said softly. "But thank you anyway. We're in your debt". Alaric eyed him and made a move to close the door. "Have you heard from Miss Bennett?"

Alaric sighed in frustration. "Bonnie's asking the witches for help to cure vampires who have been cursed by a witch to die. She needs time and you're going to give it to her if you want your psycho brother to live. When she has something, she'll come. Until then, we give her some space"he said. Then after some hastily made excuse he couldn't remember after the door closed, he shut the door and went to sit in one of the many chairs in Stefan's room.

Despite all he said to Elijah, he was also becoming worried at Bonnie's lack of contact. Did it mean the witches didn't want to help her? As he cast another look at Damon comfortably snoozing in the chair, he hoped he was wrong.

* * *

You guys would have to help me find a suitable punishment for Elijah to dole out to Klaus but that probably won't come until the last chapter or so, so take your time. But if you do have ideas I'd be elated to hear it. Please review.


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